Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

Indicted executive killed in car crash

Reprints
Indicted executive killed in car crash

(Reuters) — Aubrey McClendon, the co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corp. who led it to become one of the world's biggest natural gas producers before he was tarred by federal anti-trust charges, died on Wednesday in a car accident in Oklahoma City, police said.

He was 56.

McClendon died one day after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted him for allegedly violating antitrust laws by colluding to rig bids for oil and gas acreage while he was at Chesapeake, which has been a central player in the U.S. fracking revolution of the past decade. He denied the charges.

McClendon resigned from Chesapeake in 2013 after a corporate governance crisis and investor concerns over his heavy spending.

He went on to start American Energy Partners, and with the help of private equity funds, made huge bets on vast oil acreage around the United States and Australia.

Police said they were investigating the cause of the crash that occurred when McClendon was driving his 2013 Chevy Tahoe. Police said the vehicle was so badly burned they were unable to tell if McClendon was wearing his seat belt.

A native of Oklahoma, he attended Duke University before starting Chesapeake with his friend Tom Ward, who went on to lead SandRidge Energy Inc. for a time.

"Chesapeake is deeply saddened by the news that we have heard today and our thoughts and prayers are with the McClendon family during this difficult time," a Chesapeake spokesman said in a statement.

Read Next

  • Former Chesapeake CEO charged with bid rigging

    (Reuters) — Aubrey McClendon, former chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy Corp and a legend in the U.S. energy industry, was charged on Tuesday with conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases in Oklahoma, the Justice Department said.